Five teams in two years, and AJ Johnson is 21
New Orleans has picked up AJ Johnson and Taj Gibson from Memphis. Heading to the Grizzlies: Jordan Hawkins, Micah Peavy, a future second-round pick and a future second-round swap, per ESPN.
Reported Tuesday. Nobody in the West is redrawing their board because of it. What the trade does tell you is that two front offices are still poking at rosters they have not figured out.
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The 23rd pick who cannot stay put
Milwaukee took Johnson 23rd overall in 2024. Since then: Washington, then Dallas as a piece in the Anthony Davis blockbuster last February, then Memphis in July, and now Louisiana.
The production has not followed him anywhere. 3.3 points and 1.1 rebounds across 48 games last season, every one of them off the bench, split between the Wizards and the Mavericks.
Gibson is 41. He appeared in 10 games for Memphis last year, started one, and averaged 3.4 points and 2.7 rebounds. Teams sign him for what happens on the bus and in the film room as much as for minutes.
Two lottery-adjacent picks the Pelicans gave up on
Hawkins was the 14th pick in 2023 out of UConn. He is 24. Last season brought 5.1 points and 1.7 rebounds in 51 games with a single start, and the shooting stroke that made him a first-rounder never turned into a rotation spot.
Peavy, 25, just finished his rookie year: 4.3 points and 1.9 rebounds in 61 appearances, four starts. New Orleans turns two young players into one young player, one veteran presence, and a little draft capital tucked away for later.
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